Britannia Radio

U.S. Income Inequality, Israel Under Siege, & More

Dear Reader, The Occupy Wall Street protests have captured the country’s attention in recent weeks, highlighting the gap between the richest 1% and the other 99%. But what exactly does economic inequality mean and why does it matter? The November/December 2011 issue of Foreign Affairs leads with a powerful, must-read essay by George Packer on just this subject. Packer’s searing portrait of “The Broken Contract” argues that inequality now pervades every corner of the United States like an odorless gas, sapping the strength of its democracy. “The Wisdom of Retrenchment” by Joseph M. Parent and Paul K. MacDonald A provocative argument that the United States is too strapped to continue its overextended global commitments and needs to pull back, but that retrenchment need not be feared or lead to instability. “The Problem is Palestinian Rejectionism” by Yosef Kuperwasser and Shalom Lipner and “Israel’s Bunker Mentality” by Ronald Krebs A heated debate over the source of Israel’s greatest threat, pitting two senior Israeli officials against a liberal American Zionist, as they lock horns over whether hard-line Palestinians or hard-line Israelis are to blame for the impasse in the peace process. “The Sick Man of Asia” by Yanzhong Huang An eye-opening look at the parlous state of China’s public health programs, explaining why health issues may seriously threaten the country’s stratospheric economic gains. “Can Europe’s Divided House Stand?” by Hugo Dixon An argument that Europe can address its financial troubles by adopting tighter market discipline and letting truly insolvent countries go bust. This issue also includes a probing debate on the value of humanitarian intervention, a look at the shocking extent of Russia’s democratic decline, a careful analysis of the future of nuclear power, and more—200 pages of the world’s best minds tackling the world’s most important problems, presented to you in clear and lively English. Best, Gideon Rose Editor, Foreign Affairs